UPDATE - Hungary August PPI up 0.7% from July, down slightly yr/yr

Industrial producer prices in Hungary grew 0.7% in August from July and were down a slight 0.1% in twelve months, figures published by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Thursday show.

The monthly increase picked up from 0.3% in July despite a slower rise of domestic sales prices as export prices increased on the weaker forint after drops or no change in the previous eight months. The drop of the twelve-month PPI slowed from 1.0% in the previous two months as the forint strengthened from August 2010.

Domestic sales prices were up 0.3% in a month in August after rising 1.2% in July. The twelve-month increase of domestic sales prices was 3.4% yr/yr, unchanged from July.

Forint-term export sales prices rose 0.9% from July, in the first monthly increase registered since last December. They were down 2.5% yr/yr, less than the 4.0% yr/yr drop in July. Export prices still dropped yr/yr for the fourth month.

The forint weakened 1.7% to the euro and weakened 1.3% to the US dollar in a month, but strengthened 3.2% and 12.9%, respectively, from August 2010.

August domestic sales prices in the manufacturing industry rose 0.5% from July after a 1.3% rise in the previous month, and were up an above-average 7.7% yr/yr. Manufacturing sector export prices rose 0.9% on the month and 1.2% on the year in forint terms in August.

In a breakdown per end-use, domestic sales prices of investment-goods producers slipped 0.1% a month as a 1.3% rise in July proved temporary. The only other group with a monthly decline, of 0.2%, was that of durable consumer goods producers.

The domestic sales prices of non-durable consumer goods manufacturers rose 0.3% after a 0.5% rise in July, the monthly rise with energy producers slowed to 0.5% from an unusually big 2.0%, and intermediate goods producers registered a 0.3% rise after slight price declines in the previous two months.

Among the main export branches, forint-term export prices in the food industry rose 1.2% from July and rose 7.3% from August 2010, August export prices in chemicals manufacturing rose 2.4% a month and 6.2% yr/yr, but were down 1.1% m/m and 3.9% in the production of pharmaceuticals.

Export producer prices of computer, electronic and optical products rose 0.9% m/m in the first rise five months, and rose 0.6% from July in vehicle manufacturing, but still has been down yr/yr in both branches now for the fourth month.

Total shopping centre area in Hungary could grow 67% by year-end - Cushman & Wakefield

No new shopping centers were completed in Hungary in the first half of this year, but the total area of shopping centers could grow 67% by the end of 2011 as compared to 2010, real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield told MTI.

Three new retail centers - two in Budapest and one in Szeged - are scheduled to be completed in the second half of this year, with a combined area of 107,000sqm, adding 67% to the total area of shopping centers in Hungary.

There are no new developments starting due to financing difficulties, the statement said.

Output of Hungaryʼs construction sector climbed 27.3% year-on-year in November, according to raw data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Tuesday.
Output grew in both main groups of construction: in the construction of buildings by 17.8%, and in civil engineering works by 40.2%.

France and Germany have agreed to deepen a 1963 treaty of post-war reconciliation in a bid to show that the European Union’s main axis remains strong and to counter growing Euroskeptic nationalism among other members including Hungary, news agency Reuters reported Wednesday.

The surplus in the external trade in goods amounted to EUR 496 million in November 2018, with exports increasing by 4.7% and imports rising by 7.3% in the month in euro terms, compared to the same month of 2017, shows a first reading of data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Wednesday.

The volume of industrial output increased by 4% year-on-year in November 2018. Based on working-day adjusted data, production grew by 3.5%, according to freshly released data from the Central Statistical Agency (KSH).

The volume of retail sales grew by 5.3% in November 2018 according to raw data, and by 5.2% when adjusted for calendar effects, compared to November 2017, according to a flash estimate of monthly data published today by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).

Industrial producer prices in Hungary were up 5.1% in November 2018 compared to the same month in 2017, as prices were affected by wage growth, forint exchange rate fluctuation and petroleum market price changes on the world market, according to the Central Statistical Office (KSH).

The deficit of the general government sector in the first three quarters of 2018 was HUF 110 billion, representing 0.4% of GDP. The balance improved by HUF 54.4 bln, or 0.2 of a percentage point as a proportion of GDP, compared to the corresponding period of 2017.

Hungaryʼs rolling average three-month jobless rate reached 3.6% in September-November 2018, edging down from 3.7% in the previous three-month period, and 3.8% in the corresponding period a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Wednesday.

Foreign-owned non-financial companies posted a total of HUF 47 trillion in sales revenues in Hungary in 2017, some 6.9% more in current prices than in 2016, according to research findings based on preliminary data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).